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(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for selectively killing mites in a beehive. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method which focuses on the drone population in the hive.
(2) Description of Related Art
Honey bees (Latin name: Apis mellifera L., honey maker) are the most beneficial insects in the world. They have been producing honey, the earliest sweeteners, for thousands of years. They also provide other products, such as beeswax, which are used in cosmetics and for candle making; pollen, used as a health food; propolis and venom which are widely used as therapeutic agents for diseases. Most valuable of all, however, is the fact that bees pollinate the flowers they visit.
Honey bees play a critical role in U.S. agriculture. The value of crops requiring pollination by honey bees is estimated to be around $24 billion per year and commercial bee pollination was valued at $9.3 billion (Metcalf and Metcalf, Destructive and Useful Insects-Their Habits and Control, McGraw-Hill, New York 1993). In Michigan, bees play an even greater role because the fruits and crops in Michigan that rank in the top 10 nationally, including apples, cherries, blueberries, peaches, pears, strawberries and cucumbers, all depend on honey bee pollination for either fruit set or better yield and quality (USDA, 1976). The total value of these crops is estimated to be $272 million in 1997 in Michigan (Michigan Department of Agriculture, 1997). In addition, Michigan produces 7.6 million pounds of honey annually, which is valued at $5.7 million (average of five years"" data: 1993-1997). The total value that bees contribute to Michigan agriculture is therefore over $300 million if one adds the value of other crops that benefit from pollination and of other bee-products such as pollen, beeswax and propolis.
Honey bees are social insects that live in colonies. There are three castes of bees in each colony, the queen bee, the drones, and the workers. The most important of these is the queen bee. She is the egg machine in the hive and lays 1,500 to 3,000 eggs per day, if there are enough worker bees to incubate them. Workers are all female, but are practically sterile because they cannot mate. In the rare case that they do become egg layers, their only offsprings are males. Workers perform all the work in the colony. They have a form of division of labor that is called xe2x80x9cage-polyethismxe2x80x9d. Newly emerged workers clean comb cells for the first 2-3 days, then they become xe2x80x9cnursesxe2x80x9d and provide food to the immature stages of all three castes. They also care for the queen, feeding her xe2x80x9croyal jellyxe2x80x9d around the clock. They then spend time building new combs with wax secreted from their special glands on their abdomen. Next they process the nectar collected by foragers and dry them down and add enzyme to convert nectar into honey. Finally around 3 weeks of their life, they graduate from home and become foragers, collecting nectar, pollen, water and propolis for various uses in the hive. The workers live on average 4-6 weeks during summer, much shorter than the 3-5 year life span of the queen.
Drones do not contribute anything to the welfare of the colony. Their sole task is to mate with the new queens and they die during the process. They are in a sense dispensable in normal colonies so many beekeepers cut and remove drone brood because they are considered to be a waste of energy to maintain.
The major mite, called the varroa mite (Varroa jacobsoni) is considered the largest problem on a global scale. The mites infest the brood in the hive (drone and worker) and emerge with the young bees to repeat the cycle. The drones are twelve (12) times more likely to be infested compared to workers while in the brood combs (Sammataro, D. et al., Ann Rev Entomol 45 519-548 (2000).
Various trapping methods using drone bees have been tried as described by Calis et al, Apiacta XXXII, 65-71 (1997). This is a very labor intensive method and is not universally used. See also Zu den Deutsche Uberstetzung Sept. 29, 1999.
Various chemicals have been used to control mites in honeybees in the hive. U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,374 to Kochansky et al discuss the various compositions which are available. The problem is that the chemicals, while toxic to the mites, can leave residues in the honey, and are usually toxic to bees. The mites can also become resistant to the chemicals. Thus for these reasons chemical treatment of hives alone is not a desirable method of killing the mites.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,651 to Arndt discloses a different approach using an apparatus which attaches to the hive. In this apparatus a blower on top of the hive is used to heat air which is introduced into the bottom of the hive. The temperature of the air is maintained at 120xc2x0 to 130xc2x0 F. (48.9xc2x0 to 54.4xc2x0 C.) for fifteen minutes. Vegetable oil is also inserted into the hive through the blower to facilitate the killing of the mites, presumably to block the breathing system of the mites (spiracles). The vegetable oil can affect the honey and the bees. There is no experimental data and it is believed that this apparatus has not found widespread use, probably because it is too expensive and labor intensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,014 to Moore et al describes the use of magnetism to combat the mites. This method has not found widespread use and it is uncertain how the mites are affected by magnetism.
Other related prior art is described in Rosenkranz, P., et al., Apidologie, V28, N6 (November -December) pages 427-437 (1997); Kuenen, L. P. S., et al., Journal of Insect Behavior, V10, N2 (March), Pages 213-228 (1997); Harbo, J. R., Journal of Apicultural Research, V32, N3-4, pages 159-165 (1993); Cunningham LNE96-066 (1996). One art also describes a general heating of the whole hive to control mites. U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,432 to Musgrove describes heating elements for the comb foundation for heating the honey in the hive to feed the bees in the winter.
What is needed is a method and apparatus which allows the infested bees to be selectively treated in the hive without injury to the remaining bees or contamination of the honey.
The present invention relates to a method for controlling mites which infect and kill honey bees in a hive which comprises:
selectively directly electrifying a separate comb containing drone larvae and pupae in the hive which kills the mites and wherein remaining combs and bees in the hive are not electrified.
The present invention also relates to a method for controlling mites which infect and kill honey bees in a hive which comprises:
(a) providing a comb for drone bees in the hive, wherein the comb comprises a support member for the comb, and resistance elements which are heated by providing a current through the elements; and
(b) providing the current through the elements in the comb to selectively heat the comb containing the larvae and pupae of drone bees to a temperature which kills the mites, and wherein remaining honey combs and bees in the hive are not directly heated.
The present invention also relates to a comb for supporting drone larvae and pupae in a hive which comprises:
(a) a support member providing a foundation for cells on at least one face thereof for production of combs by worker bees and for drone bee egg laying by a queen bee in the cells and subsequently drone larvae and pupae from the eggs in the cells in the comb; and
(b) electrical means adjacent to or in the support member so as to allow selective treatment of the drone larvae and pupae and mites on the drone larvae and pupae to kill the mites.
The present invention also relates to a comb for supporting drone larvae and pupae in a hive which comprises:
(a) a frame defining the margins of the comb and providing support for mounting the comb in the hive;
(b) a support member mounted in the frame providing a foundation for cells on at least one face thereof for production of cells by worker bees and drone bee egg laying by a queen bee in the cells and subsequently growth of drone larvae and pupae from the eggs in the cells in the comb; and
(c) electrical elements mounted across the support member, wherein the elements can be electrically connected to a power source to directly heat the drone larvae and pupae to kill any mites on the drone larvae and pupae.
The present invention further relates to a honey beehive which comprises:
(a) a housing;
(b) at least one honeycomb for holding the honey produced by bees in the housing;
(c) a drone comb for supporting drone eggs, larvae and pupae in the beehive which comprises:
(1) a support member which provides a foundation for cells on at least one face thereof for production of cells by worker bees or a comb for drone bee egg laying by a queen bee in the cells in the hive and subsequently drone larvae and pupae from the cells in the cells of the combs; and
(2) electrically conductive means on or in the support member to heat the drone larvae and pupae;
(d) an electrical power source connected to the electrically conductive means; and
(e) control means for periodically activating the electrical power source and conductive means to kill the mites in the drone comb.
The present invention also relates to a support member for use in a beehive, which support member provides a foundation or a comb for drone cells on at least one face thereof for production of cells by worker bees and drone bee egg laying by a queen bee in the cells and subsequently drone bee larvae and pupae from the eggs in the cells of the comb, the improvement which comprises:
electrically conductive means adjacent to the support member or within the support member, which conductive means can be electrically connected to a power source to directly treat the drone larvae and pupae in the cells to kill mites on the drone larvae and pupae.
Finally, the present invention relates to a kit which comprises:
(a) a support member which provides a foundation for cells on at least one face thereof for production of cells by worker bees or a comb for drone bee egg laying by a queen bee in a hive and subsequently drone bee larvae and pupae in the cells in the comb, wherein the foundation or comb is provided with electrically conductive means which conductive means can be electrically connected to a power source to kill the mites; and
(b) a package for containing the support member; and
(c) instructions for the use of the support member in the hive.
Objects
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the selective treatment of beehives in order to control the mites. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to treat the hive in a manner which does not reduce honey production or quality or require separated opening of the hive. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus which is inexpensive to construct and use and which is highly effective. These and other objects will become increasingly apparent from the following description and the drawings.